Every November, National Family Caregivers Month is celebrated as a time to recognize and honor family caregivers across the country. Family caregivers play a crucial role in supporting individuals with disabilities, older adults, and individuals with other special needs to live independently and access necessary care. Family caregiving usually involves tasks such as assisting with activities of daily living, like bathing, dressing, eating, and medication administration. According to a 2020 AARP report, there are approximately 48 million family caregivers in the United States.
How Does This Relate to Fair Housing?
Under fair housing laws, a person is considered to be a person with a disability if they have a physical and/or mental condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities. A family caregiver can be a live-in aide for a tenant with a disability, if they meet HUD requirements and are essential to the care of a family member with a disability. A tenant with a disability may request that a family caregiver be permitted to reside in the unit as a reasonable accommodation. Housing providers are required to grant reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. A home health aide, personal care aide, or live-in aide that allows the tenant to have equal enjoyment of the dwelling is considered a reasonable accommodation for the tenant.
Who is Considered a Person with a Disability?
Federal and state fair housing laws prohibit housing discrimination based on disability. You are protected under the fair housing laws if you (or someone living with or associated with you):
- Have a physical or mental condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or
- Have a record of having such a disability, or
- Are regarded as having such a disability
Disabilities include, but are not limited to:
- Hearing, mobility, and visual conditions
- Cancer
- Chronic mental illness
- AIDS/HIV
- Developmental disabilities
- Alcoholism or past drug abuse
Definition of a Live-in Aide
While there is no definition of a live-in aide in the fair housing law, regulations for HUD-subsidized housing provide a useful definition. A live-in aide is defined as a person who resides with one or more elderly persons, near elderly persons or persons with disabilities who is:
- Determined to be essential to the care and well-being of the person(s).
- Is not obligated for the support of the persons.
- Would not be living in the unit except to provide the necessary supportive services.
Examples of Family Caregiver-Related Reasonable Accommodation Requests:
- Allowing caregiver to have a key to housing unit.
- Allowing caregiver to park in “Residents Only” parking.
- Informing the caregiver of policy or procedure changes.
- Providing a key and allowing use of laundry facilities and mailbox.
Housing Receiving Federal Financial Assistance
If the housing unit is subsidized with federal financial assistance and there is a need for a live-in aide and/or a spare room for medical equipment, let your local housing authority know of your needs. You can be approved for an extra room as part of the reasonable accommodation. This includes Housing Choice Voucher recipients. Although a live-in caregiver is an occupant of the unit, the caregiver is not considered a tenant for the purpose of income qualification and is not liable for paying rent. Family caregivers and all residents of a unit still must comply with occupancy standards.
How to Request Permission for a Family Caregiver to be a Live-in Aide
If you need the assistance of a family caregiver as a live-in aide, make a request to your housing provider or property manager for a reasonable accommodation. It is best to submit the requests in writing, but verbal requests are acceptable. You can find sample reasonable accommodation letters in our guide Obtaining and Maintaining Housing: Fair Housing for People with Disabilities. When a tenant requests a reasonable accommodation, housing providers may ask for verification, if the existence of a tenant’s disability is not readily apparent or if the connection to the need for the reasonable accommodation is unclear. If your housing provider or property manager asks for this verification, you should obtain a letter from your care provider or reliable third party which may include, but are not limited to, physicians, mental or behavioral health professionals, social workers, case managers, etc. You do not have to provide details about your disability or about the specific supportive services that the family caregiver will provide. You can also download The Fair Housing Center’s fact sheet on reasonable accommodation verifications to learn more.
At the Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research, we recognize the important role that family caregivers play in allowing for equal enjoyment of housing for a family member with a covered disability. Our advocates are available to assist in the process of requesting accommodations. In addition to helping through the process of submitting requests, fair housing advocates can help you if you believe your request has been unfairly denied, or if you have experienced housing discrimination in another way.